Brace and lid for receptacle pouring spout



y 5, 1965 D. L. SMITH 3,185,360

BRACE AND LID FOR RECEPTACLE POURING SPOUT Filed March 7, 1963 3Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

May 25, 1965 D. L. SMITH 3,185,360

BRACE AND LID FOR RECEPTACLE POURING SPOU'I' Filed March 7, 1963 3Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

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lfzar/layn May 25, 1965 D. 1.. SMITH 3,185,360

BRACE AND LID FOR RECEP'I'ACLE POURiNG SPOUT Filed March 7, 1963 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

life/Wyn United States Patent 3,185,360 BRACE AND LID FOR RECIQTACLEPOURING SPOUT Daniel L. Smith, Fort Myers, Fla, assignor to HomeProducts, Inc., Fort Myers, Fla, a corporation of Florida Filed Mar. 7,1963, Ser. No. 263,480 6 Claims. (Cl. 222-528) The present inventionrelates to a brace and lid for the pouring spout of a receptacle, and itis particularly directed to the provision of such a device intended foruse with fibrous-type cartons for milk, fruit juices and the like,currently in wide use. The primary object of the invention is to providemeans which, once the pouring spout of such a receptacle has beenunfolded to open position, may be mounted upon the receptacle to holdthat spout against return to closed position, together with means forcovering the open mouth of such a spout.

One conventional form of such carton or receptacle comprises a waxed orotherwise-treated carton of squat horizontal section terminating, at itsupper end, in a roof comprising upwardly and inwardly inclined oppositeside panels and tn'angularly in-folded end panels, the side panelsterminating in lips sealed together to define an upstanding ridge or ribwhich completes the closure of the upper end of the carton. Such acarton is designed to be opened by forcing apart the forward edges ofthe side panels, thereby breaking the forward portion of the rib andseparating the forward portions of the lips, and then squeezing thosepanel edges toward each other to force the mid-portion of the forwardend panel forwardly, whereby an open pouring mouth, quadrilateral andusually rhombic in horizontal section, is produced. That pouring mouthis defined by a pair of front panels meeting in a vertical fold line attheir forward edges and diverging rearward-1y, and a pair of rear wallsrespectively joined at their forward edges to the rear edges of theforward panels, converging toward their own rear edges, and merging withthe inclined roof panels in fold lines. When the mouth is open, themajor diagonal of the rhombic section lies in the vertical plane of theunbroken, rearwardly extending portion of the above-mentioned rib.

Another conventional type of receptacle which is currently in similaruse comprises a waxed or otherwisetreated carton of square horizontalsection terminating, at its upper end, in a roof comprising upwardly andinwardly inclined opposite side panels joining a central horizontalpanel, and triangularly in-folded end panels. Such a carton is designedto be opened by lifting the forward end of the horizontal panel toseparate it from the inclined 7 panels, thereby providing an upstanding,hinged tab and freeing the in-folded forward end panel. After so liftingthe tab, the forward edges of the side panels may be separated,whereupon squeezing those panel edges toward each other will force themid-portion of the forward end panel forwardly, whereby an open pouringmouth, quadrilateral and usually rhombic in horizontal section isproduced. That pouring mouth is defined by a pair of rearwardly andoutwardly inclined leaves merging in a central, substantially verticalfold line, and a pair of rearwardly and inwardly inclined ears whosefront edges merge with the rear edges of said leaves and whose basesmerge with the inclined roof panels in fold lines.

It will be obvious that, in either form of carton above described, theears must move rearwardly as the spout is folded toward closed position,so that if brace or blocker means is provided to prevent such rearwardear movement, the spout will be held against closure.

For hygienic reasons, it is, of. course, undesirable to expose theremaining contents of such a carton to the open air during periodsbetween uses, and therefore it has been customary for housewives toreclose the open mouth of such a carton after each use. Each time thecarton mouth is opened or closed, however, the lines of juncture amongthe several wall sections of the spout must be reversely bent.Obviously, such repeated bending tends to crack and shatter the wax orother coating at those lines of juncture and flakes of such coating ma?terial frequently break away and fall into the contents of the carton.bending tends to weaken the carton material and, particularly afterportions of the coating have sloughed away, that material tends tobecome scuffed, frayed and consequently highly absorbent. w

Still further, although such cartons are so designed and constructedthat the opening and closing steps can be performed by the applicationof digital pressure to the external surfaces only of the receptaclespout walls, many people, and particularly children, find suchmanipulation to be difficult or even beyond their capacity and they willtherefore insert their fingers into the spout portions of thereceptacles and into contact with the inner surfaces of the spout walls.Since children (and, to some extent, other persons of abnormally lowmanual dexterity) are notoriously less likely to observe optimum rulesof cleanliness, it is, of course, highly desirable to guard against theinsertion of fingers into the pouring mouth of such a carton.

For all of these reasons, it is desirable to provide means, readilyapplicable to and removable from a receptacle of the character underconsideration, to prevent reclosure of a pouring spout which has oncebeen opened, preferably together with means for covering the openedmouth of such a spout; and the several devices disclosed herein aredirected to those objectives.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanuing drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that change may be made in the specificconstructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of theappended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective of one form of receptacle having afoldable pouring spout, with which is associated one form of brace orblocker means and one form of cover means constructed in accordance withthe present invention, showing the cover means held in open position bythe index finger of a hand in which the receptacle is supported forpouring;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the parts illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation of the brace means illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation thereof;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary elevation of a different form of cover means inplace on the same receptacle;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a modified formof brace means;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of the structure illustrated inFIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing a modified form of braceor blocker means and a modified form FIGS. 8 to 10 in flexed, releasecondition.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 to 4, it will be seen that I haveillustrated the upper end of a receptacle Patented May 25, 1965'Additionally, such repeated folding or 3 or carton indicated generallyby the reference numeral 20, of the type in which upwardly and inwardlyinclined roof panels 21 and 22 meet with a horizontal roof panel 23,said. carton roof being completed by tucked-in end panels, the rear oneof which is indicated at 24. The tucked-in front end panel comprisesadjacent front leaves 25 and 26 meeting in a fold line 27, intermediateleaves 28 and 29 inclining outwardly and rearwardly when the pouringspout-47 is in its illustrated, open condition, and cars 30 and 31inclining rearwardly and inwardly from their lines of juncture with theleaves 28' and 29 and merging with the roof panels 21 and 22in foldlines 32-and 33. This spout structure is released for opening movementby lifting and tearing free the tab portion 34 of the panel 23.

'Thereupon, the leaves 28 and 29, and the ears 30 and 31 ulation of thespout parts toward closing condition necessarily involves rearwardmovement of the cars 30 and 31 about their fold lines 32 and 33.

To prevent reclosure ofthe spout, I provide a brace or blocker means,one form of which is indicated in FIGS. 1 to 4 generally by thereference numeral 35. That brace preferably comprises a length of stifiwire which will preferably have some resilience. The wire is bent at itsmid-point 36 to define opposed arms 37 and 38 angularly related to eachother atapproximately 90. At points 39 and 40 equidistant from the point36, the wire is again bent to provide legs 41 and 42 which converge atan angle of approximately 90 and which are inclined upwardly from theplane common to the arms 37 and 38 at equal angles of approximately Attheir distal ends, thelegs 41 and 42 are formed to provide sharpened,inturned spurs-43 and 44.

As is most clearly illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the brace 35 is adaptedto .be'engaged with the spout 47 by sliding the brace downwardly overthe opened spout, the arms 37 and 38 spanning the front of the spoutsubstantially at the base thereof, the bends 39 and 4t snugly engagingthe lateral corners of the spout substantially at the base thereof, thelegs 41 and 42 lying in the fold lines 32 and 33 and the spurs 43 and 44digging into the carton material near the upper ends of said fold lines.The spurs are sufficiently short so that they will not penetrate theears 30 and'31; but the legs.41 and 42 effectively prevent rearwardmovement of the ears 30. and 31.

Cover means is indicated generally by the reference numeral 45 andcomprises a lid portion 46 and a finger piece which may preferably, butnot necessarily, be integral, The cover means may be formed of sheetmetal, synthetic plastic or any other suitable, durable non-warpingmaterial. The lid portion 46 is shaped to conform substantially to theupwardly opening mouth of the spout '47 and, depending upon the contourof that mouth, may be folded or bent upon lines 48 and/or 49 to conformreasonably closely-to the uppermost surface of said mouth. The fingerpiece 50 is, in the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, providedwith'rebent ears 51 and 52 defining a channel in which the tab 34 may besnugly received to mount the cover means 45 hingedly on the receptacle.20 in cooperative association with the spout 47.

In FIG. 5, I have illustrated a modified form of cover means 53including a finger piece 54 which is rebent as at 55 to define a socketadapted to receive the tab 34. Preferably, the finger piece 54 will beprovided with spurs 56 and the rebent portion 55 will similarly beprovided with spurs 57 tending to retain the cover means 53 againstaccidental dislodgement from the tab 34.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 I have illustrated a modified form of brace means 58for assoc ation With a carton or receptacle 4 20. The brace 58 willpreferably be formed of the same kind of material used for the bracemeans 35. 'At its mid-point 59, a stiff wire is bent to defineopposedarms 60 and 61 angularly related to each other at approximately90. At points equidistant from the mid-point 59, the wire is bent as at62 and 63 to define legs 64 and 65 converging at approximately 90 andinclined upwardly away from the plane common to the arms 60 and 61 atequal angles of approximately 45. From the upper ends of the legs 64 and65,'runners 66 and 67 extend rearwardly in a common plane above theplane common to the arms 60 and 61 and terminate in in-turned hooks 68and 70 engageable, respectively, with the rear edges 69 and 71 of theinclined roof panels 21 and 22. Preferably, the runners 66 and 67 may beprovided with spurs 72 to assist in retaining the brace in position onthe receptacle.

It will be apparent that the operation of the brace 58 is directlyanalogous to the operation of the brace 35, and that either the covermeans 45 or the cover means 53 may be utilized in conjunction therewith.

In FIGS. 8 to 10, I have illustrated a ditferent'form of receptacle inwhich upwardly and inwardly inclined roof panels 31 and 82 terminate inlip-turned lips 83 and '34 which are sealed together to defineanupstanding rib 85, the roof structure being completed byin-folded ortucked-in end panels, the. rear endpanelbeing suggested at 86 and thefront end panel beingindicatedwat 87. The pouring spout of this form ofcarton is defined by outwardly and rearwardly inclined leaves '88 and 89and.inwardly and rearwardly inclined ears and '91. When the spout is inclosed condition, the leaf 88 is in facing relation to the ear 90, theleaf 89 is in-facing relation to the ear 91 and the forwardportionsofihe lips 83 and 84, being sealed together, hold the parts inthat condition. When that seal is broken, however, the parts 88, 89, 90and 91 may be moved, in the-manner above described, to the relativepositions illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 10, the forward portions of the lips83 and 84 now constituting upstanding tabs 92 and 93. As the parts moveto their illustrated positions, the cars 90 and 91 swing forwardly aboutthe fold l-inesy94 and 95 in which they merge with the panels 81 and 82;and any folding of the spout toward closed position must involverearward movement of the ears'90 and 91 about those'fold lines.

My brace or bracket 96 for association with this form of carton ispreferably formed from spring wire which is bent substantially double atits'mid-point97 to provide a downwardlyopening bight 98 defined bysubstantially parallel legs '99 and '100 which, in the equilibrium con.-dition of the brace, are laterally spaced by a distance slightly lessthan the combined thickness of the lips 83 and 84, whereby the rib 85may be entered into the bight 98 and there will be resiliently grippedby the legs. 99 and 100 to retain the braceiagainst'accidentaldislodgment from the rib.

Runners 101 and 102 extend forwardly fromthe lower ends of the legs 99and 100 to lie along opposite sides of the base of the rib 85. 'Arms 103and 104 diverge forwardly and downwardly from the forward ends of therunners 101 and 102, the angular relation of said arms being such that,when the bracket 96is arranged on the rib $5 in the describedrelationship, said arms will lie in the fold lines 94 and 95.

The wire is re'bent at points 105 and 106 equidistant from the runners101 and 102 to define return arms 107 and 108 above and substantiallyparalleling the. arms 103 and 104 and adapted to lie in contact with therear surfaces of the ears. 90 and 91.

Risers :109 and litl'extend upwardly and-reanwardly from the inner endsof the return arms 107 and 108, and return runners 1111 and 112 extendrearwardly from the upper ends of said risers, the wire being reverselybent, within the lengths of said return runners, to define up.- wardlyopening bights 113 and 114 whose bases are laterally aligned anddisposed above the level of the base of the bight 98, for a purposewhich willappea-r,

Cross arms 115 and 116 extend laterally from the return runners 11 1 and112 and traverse the vertical plane of the rib S5. Toes 117 and 118extend downwardly from said cross arms and are provided, at their lowerends, with in-turned, sharpened spurs 119 and 120. The bracket is soconstructed that, in its equilibrium condition, the distance between thespurs 1'19 and 120 vis slightly less than the combined thickness of thelips 83 and 84.

Because of the inherent resiliency of the wire, the toes 117 and 118maybe moved apart by squeezing pressure applied to the bights 113 and114 by a thumb and finger, whereby the bracket may be readily mountedupon the rib 85 and, when pressure is relieved from said bights, thespurs .119 and 120 will dig into the material of the rib to retain thebracket against accidental dislodgment.

A cover means, indicated generally by the reference numeral 122,comprises a lid portion 123, a finger piece 124 and trunnion means 125and 126. The cover means 122 may be formed of sheet metal, plastic, orany other suitable material. The lid portion 123 is designed to conformgenerally to the open mouth of the spout and, as shown, is "bent toprovide a step 127 for cooperation with the forward edges of the tabs 92and 93. The trunnion means 125 and 126 may comprise integral tabsextending oppositely laterally from the cover means adjacent thejuncture of the finger piece 124 with the neck 128 of the lid portion123, and said tabs are receivable in the bights 113 and 114 (which maypreferably incline upwardly and rearwardly as shown in FIG. 8) to mountthe cover means pivotally upon the bracket 96. The finger piece 124inclines upwardly and rearwardly relative to the lid portion 123 formanipulation by a finger of a hand in which the carton 80 may be held.Obviously, as the finger piece is pressed downwardly, the lid portion123 will be raised. Preferably, the finger piece will not extendsignificantly rearwardly beyond the cross arms 1 15 and 116 so that,when said finger piece is) depressed to a maximum degree, there will beno fulcrum action tending to lift the trunnion means out of the bights113 and 114.

I claim as my invention:

1. The combination with a liquid receptacle equipped with a foldablepouring spout of the type including integral, triangular, lateral earswhich, when the spout is closed, lie substantially in the respectivesides of the receptacle top and, when the spout is open, divergeforwardly and outwardly from said respective sides and must moverearwardly as said spout is folded toward closed condition, of bracemeans removably engaged with said receptacle and formed to provide twoarms, each arm engaging a rear surface of one of said ears to block suchrearward movement thereof.

2. For use with a liquid receptacle equipped with a foldable pouringspout of the type including integral, triangular, lateral ears which,when the spout is closed, lie substantially in the respective sides ofthe receptacle top and, when the spout is open, diverge forwardly andoutwardly from said respective sides and must move rearwardly as saidspout is folded toward closed condition, the invention which consists inbrace means removably engaged with said receptacle and formed to providetwo arms, each arm engaging a rear surface of one of said ears to blocksuch rearward movement thereof, said brace means comprising acontinuous, resilient piece proportioned and designed to span the frontof such a spout near the base thereof when such spout is open andincluding opposed arms designed to lie behind such ears, substantiallyat the fold lines in which such ears merge with the respective sides ofsuch receptacle top.

3. The invention of claim 2 in which the distal end of each arm isprovided with an inturned, sharpened spur.

4. For use with a liquid receptacle made of foldable material and of thetype whose top comprises upwardly and inwardly inclined side panelsjoining a central horizontal panel, and tucked-in end panels, the frontend portion of said horizontal panel being separable from said sidepanels to define an upstanding tab and to release the front end panelfor unfolding to define an upwardly opening pouring spout rearwardlybounded by opposite integral, triangular, lateral cars which must swingrearwardly as said spout is folded toward closed condition; theinvention which comprises, in combination, brace means proportioned anddesigned to span the front of such a spout, when the spout is open,adjacent the base thereof and having opposed legs proportioned anddesigned to lie substantially in the fold lines at the bases of saidears, the distal ends of said legs being inturned for retentiveengagement with said receptacle, and cover means including a fingerpiece constructed and arranged retentively to receive such a tab, and alid portion arranged to cover the open mouth of the spout associatedwith said tab.

5. A brace of the character described consisting of a stiff wire bentsubstantially at its midpoint to define rectilinear arms diverging at anangle of approximately from a right-angular apex, said arms being bentagain, at points substantially equidistant from said apex, to definelegs converging at an angle of approximately 90 to each other andinclining upwardly from the plane common to said arms at equal angles ofapproximately 45 6. For use with a liquid receptacle made of foldablematerial and of the type whose top comprises upwardly and inwardlyinclined side panels joining a central horizontal panel, and tucked-infront and rear end panels, the front end portion of said horizontalpanel being separable from said side panels to define an upstanding taband to release the front end panel for unfolding to define' an upwardlyopening pouring spout rearwardly bounded by opposite integral,triangular, lateral cars which must swing rearwardly as said spout isfolded toward closed condition; the invention which comprises, incombination, brace means consisting of a stiff wire bent substantiallyat its midpoint to define arms diverging at an angle of approximately 90from an apex and to span the opened front panel of such a receptaclenear the base thereof, and then bent again, at points substantiallyequidistant from said apex, to define legs converging at an angle ofapproximately 90 and inclining upwardly from the plane common to saidarms at equal angles of approximately 45 to lie behind said ears andsubstantially at the foldlines between said ears and said inclined sidepanels, and cover means including a finger piece constructed andarranged retentively to receive such a tab, and a lid portion arrangedto cover the open mouth of the spout associated with said tab.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 621,662 3/91Harreif.

1,197,844 9/16 Muchmore 24-261 X 1,265,759 5/18 Edmonds 222-5291,366,006 1/21 Jehn 222-532 1,498,275 6/24 Hartley 24-36 X 1,528,0273/25 Peterson 222-529 X 2,393,514 1/46 Bicknell 24-261 X 2,510,918 6/50Wax 222-532 2,546,052 3/51 Wilkins 222-529 X 2,582,502 1/52 Nagler24-261 X 2,617,563 11/52, Miller 222-528 2,636,704 4/53 Norberg 24-261 X2,775,386 12/56 Cannon 229-7 2,973,131 2/61 Mead et-al.,

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A LIQUID RECEPTACLE EQUIPPED WITH A FOLDABLEPOURING SPOUT OF THE TYPE INCLUDING INTEGRAL, TRIANGULAR, LATERAL EARSWHICH, WHEN THE SPOUT IS CLOSED, LIE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE RESPECTIVESIDES OF THE RECEPTACLE TOP AND, WHEN THE SPOUT IS OPEN, DIVERGEFORWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM SAID RESPECTIVE SIDES AND MUST MOVEREARWARDLY AS SAID SPOUT IS FOLDED TOWARD CLOSED CONDITION, OF BRACEMEANS REMOVABLY ENGAGED WITH SAID RECEPTACLE AND FORMED TO PROVIDE TWOARMS, EACH ARM ENGAGING A REAR SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID EARS TO BLOCK SUCHREARWARD MOVEMENT THEREOF.